HISTORY 


l  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAJSr 
CHURCH 


PI-AiNFXELD,  NEW  pRSEY 


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%  ALLEN  E.  BEALS 


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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PRINCETON,     N.    J. 


Presented  by 

The  Au+loor 

BX  8949  .B42  1825 
Beals,  Allen  E. 
History  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church  at 


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History 

of 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church 

at 

Plainfield,  New  Jersey 


By  ALLEN  E.''BEALS 


Commemoraring  the  One  Hundredth  Anniversary  of 
the  founding  and  organization  of 

The  Presbyterun  Church  of  Plainfield,  New  Jersey 

July  9th  and  loth,    1825 


In  kindly   memory   o. 
Living  and   Departed   Friends  he   has   Icnown   in 

"The   Church  of  Brotherly  Love" 

this  work  is  respectfully  dedicated  by 
its  author 


CONTENTS 

Subject  Page 

Chapter  I 

The   Lord's  Supper   Beneath   the   Green   Brook 
Trees i 

Chapter  II 
What  Came  from  Cordially  Greeting  a  Stranger       7 

Chapter  III 

"A  Gloomy  Box  Inside  and  Out" 13 

Chapter  IV 
How  THE  "Anxious  Seat"  Issue  Divided  the  Church     17 

Chapter  V 
Sarah  M.  Latimer  and  "The  Little  Black  Cross"  .     21 

Chapter  VI 
The  Close  of  the  First  Century       27 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Earliest  Known  Map  of  Plainfield, 

New  Jersey Front  Cover  Insert 

The  Original  Presbyterian  Church 
Building  in  Plainfield  Erected 
IN  1826 Facing  page  v 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 

1 85 5-1 887        Facing  page  xiii 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 

188 8- 1925 Facing  page  xxiv 


Compiler's  Note — This  manuscript  is  submitted  with  profound  reali- 
zation on  the  part  of  its  author  that  it  must  be,  of  necessity  (considering 
the  circumstances  under  which  it  has  been  prepared),  in  some,  if  not  many, 
respects  unworthy  of  the  subject  with  which  it  deals,  namely,  One  Hun- 
dred Years  of  Influence  in  this  Community  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Plainfield.  Great  indulgence  is  craved  from  those  who  may 
scan  it  with  the  eye  of  the  literary  critic.  It  has  been  the  author's  purpose 
to  transform  ordinarily  dry  and  uninteresting  dates  and  chronological 
sequence  along  the  very  thin  line  of  pastorates  by  bringing  out  the  human- 
interest  touches,  much  as  a  narrative  that  might  be  recounted  to  a  family 
grouped  beside  a  homely  fireplace  with  the  subtle  consciousness  that  former 
pastors  and  people  are  spiritually  listening  in  as  to  a  tale  that  is  being  told. 

Tuesday,  September  8,  1925.  A.  E.  B. 


The  History  oi  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Plainfield,  New  Jersey 

By  Allen  E.  Beals 

CHAPTER  I 

The  Lord's  Supper  beneath  the  Green  ^rook  Trees 

UR  Blessed  Lord,  who  supped  beneath  the  Green  Brook 
Trees  with  eighteen  founders  of  the  first  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Plainfield,  one  hundred  years  ago,  alone  can  know  and 
trace  the  world-'round  good  their  successive  hosts  have  wrought. 

It  long  has  passed  the  power  and  ken  of  human  tongue  or  pen 
to  fully  cite  the  blessings  that  since  have  flowed  beyond  the  clarion 
of  its  heralding  or  tolling  bell ;  and  as  the  years  begin  to  drape  the 
mantle  of  antiquity  about  the  sacred  pile  that  more  than  half  a  thou- 
sand now  look  upon  as  their  church  home  one  cannot  help  but  feel 
impotent  adequately  to  trace  the  halo  that  pervades  it  much  less 
to  portray  the  symbolic  setting  that  marked  its  modest  birth. 

While  Time  has  warped  the  pristine  beauty  of  the  spot  where 
arching  trees  were  rafters  and  greensward  the  carpet  of  the 
homeless  flock,  it  has  sublimely  glorified  the  aspirations  and  the 
prayers  of  those  who  were  the  first  Presbyterians  to  worship  in 
their  home  church  here,  on  that  memorable  Sabbath  day,  July 
10,  1825. 

Contemporary  events  alone  convey  to  men  and  women  of  to- 
day a  worthy  conception  of  the  times  in  which  this  event  in  the 
religious  life  of  Plainfield  occurred. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  the  sixth  President  of  the  United  States, 
had  just  entered  office  four  months  before,  and  the  political  feud 
between  the  President  and  Andrew  Jackson,  defeated  in  the  cam- 
paign the  preceding  year,  was  just  beginning  to  sweep  the 
country. 

The  Monroe  Doctrine,  promulgated  in  1822,  was  still  as- 
tounding the  countries  of  Europe  and  the  great  dispute  over  the 
subject  of  slavery  which  was  to  eventuate  in  the  Civil  War  forty 
years  later,  was  fanned  by  the  Missouri  Compromise  that  sought 
to  draw  a  geographical  line  of  demarkation  between  the  pro- 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

slavery  south  and  the  anti-slavery  north.  People  were  just  be- 
ginning to  realize  that  the  Mason-Dixon  line,  the  result  of  a 
survey  by  Mason,  a  surveyor  of  the  North  and  Dixon,  a  sur- 
veyor of  the  South,  was,  in  fact,  destined  to  be  a  power  for  divid- 
ing the  nation  against  itself,  and,  filled  with  Biblical  admonitions, 
churchmen  were  prophesying  that  the  nation,  no  more  than  a 
house,  could  thus  stand. 

The  Village  of  Plainfield  consisted  of  only  sixty  scattered 
buildings  then.  There  was  a  stream  of  rather  generous  propor- 
tions that  made  its  way  from  the  Scotch  Plains  notch  through  the 
watercourse  that  is  now  not  much  more  than  a  trickling  rivulet, 
by  comparison,  and  which  we  misname  Green  Brook. 

But  then  it  broadened  out  into  a  pond  that  served  to  store  up 
water  power  for  a  grist  mill  now  between  Watching  Avenue  and 
Somerset  Street.  This  site  was  surrounded  almost  entirely  by  a 
grove  of  stately  chestnut,  oak  and  elm  trees,  save  for  a  mossy 
place  where  the  farmers  of  the  country-side  brought  their  grain 
to  be  ground  into  flour. 

On  Sunday,  July  lo,  1825,  this  was  the  spot  where  the  Presby- 
terian church  in  Plainfield  first  saw  the  light  of  day. 

On  the  day  before,  Saturday,  July  9,  1825,  according  to  the 
minutes  of  the  Session,  carefully  preserved  by  John  M.  Bettman: 

"Agreeably  to  the  appointment  of  the  Presbytery  of  Eliz- 
abethtown,  The  Rev.  John  McDowell,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev. 
Alexander  G.  Frazer,  attended  for  the  purpose  of  organ- 
izing a  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  place." 

At  that  time  the  following  persons  presented  certificates  and 
were  recorded  as  the  original  eighteen  founders  of  the  Plainfield 
Presbyterian  Church : 

William  Sayre New  Providence 

Anna,  wife  of  William  Sayre New  Providence 

Elizabeth   Littell New  Providence 

Mrs.  Sarah  Layton Baskingridge 

John  King Baskingridge 

Eliza,  wife  of  John  King Baskingridge 

Deborah,  wife  of  Frederick  Cadmus  ....  Bound  Brook 

Dinah,  wife  of  Cornelius  Cadmus     ....  Bound  Brook 

Elizabeth   C.   Vermeule Bound  Brook 

Ruth  P.  Cook Newburgh 

Robert  Anderson New  Brunswick 

2 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

Agnes,  wife  of  Robert  Anderson New  Brunswick 

Pierpont    Potter Westfield 

Rebecca  Manning Westfield 

Sarah,  wife  of  Matthew  A.  Brown     ....  Westfield 

Conrad   Neil       ....■•....  New  York 

Lydia  Gardiner Orange 

John  Layton,  Jr Bedminster 

At  the  same  time  Robert  Anderson,  proprietor  of  a  dry  goods 
store  at  the  South  East  corner  of  Watchung  Avenue  and  East 
Front  Street  and  John  Layton,  Jr.,  "were  set  apart"  to  the  offices 
of  ruling  Elders  and  Deacons  whereupon  "The  Church  of  Plain- 
field"  was  declared  to  be  duly  organized,  at  3  o'clock  P.  M., 
July  9,  1825. 

On  the  following  Sabbath,  (July  loth),  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell conducted  the  first  known  local  service  of  Worship  of 
Almighty  God  under  the  rules  of  the  Presbyterian  faith  and 
"under  the  shade  of  the  trees"  there  participated  in  the  rites  of 
The  Lord's  Supper  after  hearing  Dr.  McDowell  preach  from 
I  Corinthians  11  :i8  : 

"But  let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that 
bread  and  drink  of  that  cup." 

On  October  7th,  1825,  the  session  minutes  show  that  the  con- 
gregation had  increased  to  23. 

Prior  to  these  dates  Presbyterians  living  in  and  near  Plainfield 
were  obliged  to  attend  public  worship  in  either  Bound  Brook  or 
Westfield.  There  were  no  regular  means  of  transportation  be- 
tween the  two  communities. 

If  a  registered  member  of  the  church  failed  to  attend  regu- 
larly, to  the  services  of  public  worship,  he  was  reported  to  Ses- 
sion which  waited  upon  the  delinquent  to  ascertain  why  he  or 
she  did  not  attend  or  why  he  or  she  "turned  the  back  upon  the 
Lord's  Table." 

It  can  easily  be  understood  why,  therefore,  the  growing  com- 
munity of  Plainfield,  taking  in  as  it  did  territory  between  Basking- 
ridge,  Bound  Brook,  New  Bunswick  and  Westfield,  desired  to 
have  a  Presbyterian  church  of  its  own,  because  the  perils  of 
travel  in  winter  were  great  and  in  the  summer,  often  most  un- 
comfortable, especially  for  the  aged. 

Scotch  Plains  was  the  metropolis  of  all  this  surrounding  coun- 

3 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

try  in  those  days,  and  even  up  to  1840,  until  the  railroad  tracks 
were  moved  over  to  Fanwood,  some  years  later,  all  mail  was  re- 
ceived and  delivered  to  Plainfielders  in  Scotch  Plains  and  public 
gatherings  in  the  interest  of  Plainfielders  were  held  in  the  Town 
Hall  at  that  place.  The  City  of  Plainfield  was  not  incorporated 
as  a  city  until  1869. 

Church  services  for  the  Presbyterian  congregation  were  held  in 
the  Academy  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Lewis  Bond,  which  stood  a 
few  yards  away  from  the  present  church  property  to  the  west, 
although  in  later  years  that  name  was  given  to  another  semi- 
public  building  that  stood  at  what  is  now  Arlington  Avenue  and 
Fourth  Street. 

These  services  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Lewis  Bond,  of 
whom  first  mention  in  the  official  Session  minutes  occurs  under 
date  of  January  9th,  1826,  when  he  was  recorded  as  being  the 
"Stated  supply"  and  who,  as  such,  acted  at  that  meeting  as  moder- 
ator. It  is  evident,  however,  that  he  served  the  congregation  as  its 
leader  shortly  after  the  church  was  organized  in  1825.  He  con- 
tinued as  pastor  until  April,  1857,  a  total  of  32  years  during 
which  time  he  received  into  membership  nearly  500  persons,  of 
whom  200  were  received  on  certificates  from  other  churches.  He 
died  January  23rd,   1885. 

During  his  long  pastorate,  200  were  dismissed  to  other 
churches,  of  whom  86  united  in  forming  the  Second  Presbyterian 
church  under  the  Presbytery  of  Newark.  This  church  was,  for  a 
time,  also  located  on  Front  Street.  The  Rev.  William  Whittaker 
was  its  first  pastor  serving  until  1885.  It  later  purchased  the  prop- 
erty at  Crescent  Avenue  and  "Broadway,"  that  having  been  the 
name  of  Watchung  Avenue  above  "Peace  Street"  which  termi- 
nated at  East  Seventh  Street.  The  First  Presbyterian  church 
also  contributed  largely  in  membership  toward  the  founding  of 
Trinity  Reformed  Church. 

Meeting  sometimes  in  the  Academy,  and  sometimes  in  the 
homes  of  its  members,  there  soon  arose  great  need  for  a  regular 
house   of  worship. 

The  congregation,  as  has  been  seen,  was  very  small,  none  of 
them  having  means,  probably,  beyond  their  daily  requirements, 
because  we  are  told  in  some  of  the  records  available  from  the 
archives  of  the  first  pastor  of  this  church,  that  while  twenty-five 
years  before  there  were  only  twenty  houses  in  the  village  of  Plain- 
field,  there  were,  indeed,  only  sixty  when  the  Presbyterian  church 

4 


O) 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

in  Plalnfield  was  organized.  At  the  time  the  map,  which  accom- 
panies this  sketch,  was  made  (1832),  there  were  only  168  houses 
in  the  community  and,  in  his  quarter  century  sermon  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Bond  records  the  fact  that  as  late  as  185  i  this  number  had 
been  increased  to  only  400  dwellings,  8  churches  and  15  store- 
houses. 

The  same  papers  make  record  of  the  fact  that  the  first  frame 
house  ever  erected  in  Plainfield,  noting  the  passing  of  the  tent 
and  log  cabin  habitations  of  the  first  settlers  and  Indians,  was  in 
1700  and  there  are  authentic  records  to  show  that  a  part  of  this 
original  first  permanent  shelter  in  this  city  was  part  of  the  John 
Wilson  home. 

Prior  to  the  organization  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Plain- 
field  there  had  been  no  weekly  prayer  meetings  nor  had  there 
ever  been  a  Bible  Class,  much  less  a  Sunday  school.  The  popula- 
tion of  Plainfield  at  the  time  our  church  was  organized  was  300, 
740  in  1832,  and  in  1850  it  had  increased  to  2,000. 

The  eight  churches  then  supplying  the  spiritual  needs  of  this 
community  were  able  to  join  the  first  Pastor  of  this  church  in 
rejoicing  in  the  fact  that  they  could  count  one-half  of  the  popula- 
tion as  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  This  was  in  great  con- 
trast with  the  record  of  forty  communicants  in  the  Baptist  church, 
twenty-three  in  the  Presbyterian  church  and  (not  counting  the 
membership  of  the  Society  of  Friends)  there  totalled  in  all  this 
church  community,  around  1825,  from  Westfield  to  Basking- 
ridge.  Bound  Brook,  New  Brunswick  and  Rahway,  only  a  little 
over  sixty  professed  disciples  of  Christ! 

Reference  to  the  accompanying  map  will  make  it  possible  for 
the  reader  to  picture  the  sparsely  settled  place  that  was  destined 
to  be  the  great  industrial  and  residential  community  of  nearly 
40,000  inhabitants  living  in  Plainfield  and  North  Plainfield  to- 
ward the  close  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  twentieth  century.  In 
1832  it  was  really  a  thin  line  of  small  frame  dwellings  stretching 
the  length  of  Front  Street  from  Plainfield  Avenue  to  a  little  be- 
yond Division  Street,  some  few  structures  on  "Cherry  Street," 
now  Park  Avenue,  some  on  Division  Street,  now  Westervelt  Ave- 
nue, and  North  Plainfield  was  not  more  than  an  equally  thin  line 
of  dwellings  for  a  block  or  two  beyond  the  brook  which  was 
spanned  by  a  rustic  bridge  beside  which  was  a  ford  where  the 
folks  stopped  to  chat  and  trade  over  their  carts  while  their  horses 
refreshed  themselves  in  the  stream. 


CHAPTER  II 

IVhat  Came  from  Cordially  Greeting  a  Stranger 

NE  hundred  years  before  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Plain- 
field  was  organized,  or  a  span  of  years  equalling  those  be- 
tween that  event  and  the  year  to  which  we  reverently  pay  homage, 
the  first  organized  meeting  of  the  orthodox  Quakers  was  held  at 
"Tow  Town,"  later  known  as  New  Brooklyn,  just  outside  of  the 
present  community  of  New  Market.  It  is  recorded  that  these 
meetings  were  held  at  the  home  of  John  Laing,  forebear  of  the 
John  Laing  whose  inn,  famous  in  its  day,  stood  upon  the  site 
of  the  Babcock  building.  He  gave  a  plot  on  which  to  erect  a 
meeting  house  on  March  27,  1731  and  the  Woodbridge  Monthly 
Meeting  gave  its  permission  to  erect  a  building  directing  that  it 
should  not  exceed  "24  feet  square  and  14  feet  between  'joynts.'  " 
It  was  completed  "and  all  accounts  settled"  by  the  latter  part  of 
1736.  The  larger  plot,  standing  near  the  present  railroad  sta- 
tion was  given  and  the  Meeting  House  still  standing  was  built 
in  1788. 

In  thus  giving  a  setting  of  the  conditions  surrounding  the 
founding  of  our  church  and  of  the  state  of  the  community  into 
which  it  was  launched,  it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  note  the 
sequence  of  the  establishment  of  other  early  churches  in  this 
community : 

The  Presbyterian  church  was  the  fourth,  in  this  respect;  the 
next  organization  following  that  of  the  Quakers  being  the  Bap- 
tists, nearly  one  hundred  years  later,  or  in  18 18;  the  Methodist 
church  in  1820,  the  Presbyterian  in  1825,  Seventh  Day  Baptist 
in  1838,  Second  Baptist  church,  in  1842;  Second  Presbyterian 
church  (Crescent  Avenue)  in  1844;  St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic 
church  in  1849;  Grace  Episcopal  church  in  1852;  Central  Re- 
formed church  1863,  which,  however,  became  defunct  in  1883; 
Mount  Olive  Baptist  church  1870  (colored)  ;  German  Reformed 
church,  1873;  Park  Avenue  Baptist  church,  1876;  Church  of 
Heavenly  Rest,  1879. 

Trinity  Reformed  church  and  the  Congregational  church  were 
formed  between  the  years  1879  and  1880, 

The  erection  of  the  original  Presbyterian  church  in  this  city 
brings  to  mind  the  circumstances  under  which  the  land  came  to 
be  given  and  its  dramatic  sequence. 

7 


THE     HISTORY    OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

There  lived  in  Plainfield  at  the  time  a  gentleman  and  a  con- 
siderable land  owner  who,  while  not  particularly  interested  in 
churches  prior  to  his  coming  to  Plainfield,  had  been  cordially  and 
graciously  received  in  the  ancestral  Bond  Manor,  which  stood  on 
the  present  site  of  the  City  Hall.  Feeling  the  welcoming  influence 
of  the  quadruple  row  of  trees,  now  marking  East  Seventh  Street, 
having  been  the  driveway  leading  up  to  the  portico,  he  be- 
came interested  in  the  school  master  and  preacher  and  after 
the  organization  of  the  church  under  the  Green  Brook  trees, 
came  to  the  pastor  of  the  flock  with  his  wife,  and  offered  their 
help,  saying  that  they  were  willing  to  deed  over  to  the  Presby- 
terian church  in  Plainfield,  "Meeting  House  Lot." 

Ample  confirmation  is  to  be  found  of  this  couple's  gracious 
gift  in  the  archives  in  the  custody  of  the  Register  of  Deeds,  New- 
ark, New  Jersey,  which  at  the  time  was  the  seat  for  Union  as 
well  as  Essex  counties. 

There,  under  date  of  1826  may  be  seen  a  transcript  of  the 
original  deed,  done  in  clear,  bold  handwriting,  apparently  with 
a  quill  pen,  and,  after  the  usual  formalities  of  such  documents, 
it  proceeds  to  grant  "forever,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  a  Presby- 
terian Meeting  House,  Academy  and  Burying  Ground,  and  no 
other,  that  lot  of  land  known  by  the  name  of  'Meeting  House 
Lot'  situated  in  the  Village  of  Plainfield  in  the  township  of 
Westfield,"  signed  Matthias  A.  Brown  and  Sarah  Ann  Brown, 
his  wife,  dated  February  5,  1826,  and  by  Caleb  Freeman,  Jarvis 
B,  Ayres,  Frederick  Cadmus,  John  King  and  the  Trustees  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  in  Plainfield.  This  instrument  was  duly 
attested  May  11,  1826  before  John  Woodruff,  "Commissioner 
for  taking  Acknowledgments." 

The  years  slowly  doled  out  their  meed  of  fortune,  fair  as  well 
as  ill,  and  in  the  course  of  time  fate  weaved  a  pathetic  web  of 
want  around  the  benevolent  gentleman  of  earlier  years.  Among 
the  few  stores  of  that  day  doing  business  in  Plainfield,  that  of 
Drs.  John  and  Lewis  Craig,  druggists,  for  whom  the  North 
Plainfield  street  was  named,  is  memorable  as  the  shelter  of  the 
man  whose  generosit}'^  made  permanent  the  location  of  our 
church. 

Upon  this  site  was  erected  a  frame  church  of  which  the  only 
graphic  likeness  so  far  known  to  be  in  existence  is  on  the  Map 
of  1832,  accompanying  this  sketch.     The  famed  academy  later 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

had  its  location  in  the  basement  of  the  church  and  among  its 
pupils  were  James  E.  Martine,  former  U.  S.  Senator  from  New 
Jersey,  William  H.  Shotsvell,  Abraham  L.  Cadmus  and  other 
prominent  Plainfielders  of  their  time. 

It  was  a  white  frame  church  with  a  steeple  that  barely  sur- 
mounted the  stately  trees  about  it,  with  green  shingles,  probably 
the  result  of  being  much  in  the  shade. 

The  little  church,  compared  with  the  present  edifice,  stood  far 
back  on  the  propert}',  probably  at  about  the  line  where  the  pres- 
ent church  building  stops  and  the  chapel  begins.  Its  construc- 
tion must  have  been  largely  the  result  of  labor  contributed  by 
its  members. 

Just  before  the  excavation  work  began  upon  the  construction 
of  the  church  of  1855,  the  frame  church  which  had  been  dedi- 
cated in  1827  (not  1837  as  most  histories  give  it)  after  consider- 
able and  unavoidable  delays,  as  the  pastor  said  in  his  dedicatory 
sermon,  "because  of  much  embarrassment  occasioned  by  our  in- 
fant state,"  there  being  then  only  twenty-seven  in  communion, 
"was  moved  across  the  tracks." 

The  labor  that  must  have  been  expended  upon  this  church, 
simple  in  architectural  appearance  though  it  was,  can  be  con- 
ceived only  by  realizing  that  in  those  days  planing  mills  and  mass 
production  of  structural  parts  of  building  were  unknown  and 
little  dreamed  of.  All  house  building  of  any  kind  was  framed 
with  hand-hewn  timber,  braced  by  hand-wrought  girdles  of  iron 
to  hold  the  supporting  beams  in  place. 

The  building  before  removal  was  cut  in  two  and  thus  removed 
to  a  site  that  is  now  a  coal  yard  near  the  corner  of  East  Fourth 
Street  and  Roosevelt  Avenue.  About  seven  years  ago,  they  were 
again  moved,  this  time  to  their  present  location  at  326  and  32B 
East  Fourth  Street,  across  the  street,  where  they  face  the  rail- 
road track  and  can  be  plainly  seen  by  any  interested  passenger  on 
trains  going  to  or  coming  from  New  York. 

No.  328  is  still  dedicated  to  church  uses,  and  is  occupied  as 
a  Manse  by  the  pastor  of  the  congregation  known  as  The  Church 
of  God  and  the  Saints  of  Christ,  the  place  of  worship  having 
been  erected  in  the  rear  of  this  building. 

No,  326  is  the  best  preserved  of  the  two  structures,  however, 
and  is  used  as  a  dwelling,  being  now  owned  by  the  occupant. 
When  the  two  buildings  were  removed  to  this  site,  a  single  build- 

9 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

ing  then  standing  there  was  cut  in  two  and  the  two  halves  were 
attached  to  the  two  halves  of  the  old  church,  for  purposes  of 
providing  kitchens. 

In  the  attic  of  No.  326  there  are  eloquent  testimonials  to  this 
day  of  the  reasons  for  the  delay  in  the  completion  of  the  original 
building  as  referred  to  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bond. 

There,  in  the  subdued  light,  one  might  almost  say,  hallowed 
by  sacred  memories  and  loving,  albeit,  sweaty  toil  of  the  sturdy 
parishioners  of  1826,  the  spectator  stands  amazed  at  the  patience 
and  the  evident  determination  of  those  early  Presbyterians  to 
found  their  church  in  Plainfield  for  all  time.  Black  walnut  beams 
and  girders,  bear  mute,  but  impressive,  evidence  of  the  labor 
that  must  have  been  expended  with  crude,  half-tempered  adzes 
and  home-made  mauls  to  cut  and  trim  and  fit  these  sustaining 
timbers  so  that  down  the  long  decades  they  might  bid  successful 
defiance  to  the  destroying  agencies  of  Time. 

It  would  be  irreverent  for  us  to  turn  this  page  of  history  upon 
the  little  white  Presbyterian  church  at  Plainfield  without  quoting 
at  least  in  part,  the  sermon  delivered  on  January  5th,  185  i,  by 
the  venerable  pastor  of  this  people,  a  sermon  which  has  been 
preserved  in  the  historical  archives  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
as  one  of  the  masterpieces  of  eloquence  and  of  historical  fact. 
(See  Pamphlets  N.  J.  Vol.  VIII,  File  No.  N-040;  N-42,  New- 
ark, N.  J. )_ 

From  First  Samuel,  12:  24:  "Only  fear  the  Lord,  and  serve 
Him  with  all  your  heart;  for  consider  how  great  things  He 
hath  done  for  you,"  he  took  his  text. 

Reviewing  the  historical  events  that  had  transpired  up  to  that 
time  he  said:  "But  while  we  mingle  in  the  universal  mourning  at 
the  death  of  W^ashington,  we  may  still  rejoice  in  the  possession 
of  that  Liberty,  which,  under  his  guidance,  with  the  Blessing  of 
God,  our  fathers  had  achieved." 

But  the  following  extract  from  the  minister's  far  famed  elo- 
quence, the  lofty  flights  of  his  oratory,  pathos,  prophecy  and 
importunity  for  a  continuance  of  the  great  effort  enjoined  upon 
all  mankind  to  forget  "those  things  which  are  behind,  and  reach- 
ing forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before,"  to  "press  toward 
the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Jesus 
Christ,"  stands  forth  without  question  as  the  clearest  glimpse 
we  of  this  day  and  generation  can  have  of  the  qualities  that 

10 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

bound  his  people  so  affectionately  to  him  for  nearly  a  third  of  a 
century : 

"The  memory  of  our  kindred,  the  low  whisper  of  our 
departed  people,  invite  us  to  cast  one  more  lingering  look 
at  the  silent  mansions  of  the  dead. 

"There  lie  entombed  nearly  200  of  our  flock.  Age,  Activ- 
ity, Youth  and  Infancy  lie  slumbering  together.  Over  these 
the  storms  may  rage  and  the  thunder  roll,  but  they  heed 
them  not.  Over  these  may  gather  the  tumult  of  the  busy 
throng,  and  the  shrill  whistle  or  the  rolling  car  may  pierce 
the  skies,  but  they  shall  not  awake.  Over  these,  the  church- 
going  bell  may  announce  the  sacred  morn,  and  the  songs  of 
Zion  sound  loud  the  joyous  day,  but  they  may  not  come 
hither.  Others  shall  be  added  to  their  number,  and  the  sigh 
of  the  mourner  mingle  with  the  clods  of  the  valley,  but  these 
shall  still  sleep  sweetly. 

"They  count  not  the  revolving  years  nor  note  the  pass- 
ing centuries;  nor  will  they  regard  'till  time  shall  be  no 
longer.'  Then  shall  they  listen  to  the  Tramp  of  God.  Then 
shall  they  startle  into  Life  'and  burst  the  caverns  of  the 
grave.  Then  shall  they  take  on  immortality.'  Then  shall 
the  living  be  changed  in  a  moment;  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye.  Then  shall  all  nations  be  gathered  before  the  throne  of 
God.  Then  and  there  must  He  appear  and  then  and  there 
shall  be  melded  in  eternity. 

"Let  us  then  arise  and  'serve  the  Lord  in  truth  and  with 
a  perfect  heart.'  Let  us  labor  and  pray  that  this  house  may 
be  evermore  'The  House  of  God,  the  Gate  of  Heaven'  that 
here  the  closest  blessings  of  His  Grace  may  be  shed  down 
on  us  and  on  our  children;  that  our  land  may  be  Immanuel's 
Land  and  the  whole  world  be  full  of  His  Glory." 


11 


The  First  Presbyterian  Church  1855-1877 


CHAPTER  III 

**Q>^  Gloomy  'Sox  Inside  and  Out** 

ICTURES  of  "the  church  of  1855"  are  extremely  rare. 
The  only  one  known  to  be  in  existence  was  quite  accidentally 
discovered  to  be  in  the  possession  of  Elder  and  Mrs.  A.  V.  Sear- 
ing, Jr.,  who  kindly  loaned  it  for  its  reproduction  in  that  history. 

It  has  been  referred  to  as  "A  gloomy  box  inside  and  out"  and 
the  reasons  for  this  characterization  of  the  house  of  worship  of 
that  day  is  amply  confirmed  by  the  architectural  features  of  the 
edifice,  which,  let  it  be  remembered,  was  in  strict  compliance 
with  the  tendency  of  the  time  to  enshroud  religion  and  things  re- 
ligious with  the  gloom  of  darkness  and  the  dead,  rather  than 
the  radiancy  of  the  light  of  joy  and  the  completeness  of  Christ  in 
life. 

The  church  stood  on  the  lot  almost  to  the  sidewalk  line,  abreast 
of  the  front  of  the  J.  B.  Coward  house  adjoining  to  the  east.  It 
was  built  of  brick  plastered  with  brown  mortar,  ruled  into  squares 
about  9  by  15  inches  so  as  to  give  the  appearance  as  having  been 
erected  of  brownstone.  Surmounting  the  building  was  a  rather 
stubby  latticed  tower  into  which  the  bell,  which  hung  in  the  origi- 
nal frame  church,  was  placed  and  which,  by  the  way,  is  still 
calling  worshipers  to  service  as  it  did  when  the  first  pastor  of  the 
church  preached  to  the  congregation.  It  is  thus  the  only  articu- 
late voice  that  links  the  congregation  of  641  today  with  that  of 
the  166  devout  communicants  who  crowned  their  valiant  con- 
struction efforts  in  1827  with  the  opening  service  of  praise  and 
prayer  when  the  little  white  church  was  completed. 

The  building  had  a  peak  roof,  was  about  forty-five  feet  high, 
and  its  entrance  was  in  the  middle  with  two  huge  masonry  but- 
tresses on  either  side  to  take  up  the  remainder  of  the  building's 
width.  Two  Ionic  columns  of  brown  stone  to  match  the  ma- 
sonry graced  either  side  of  the  entrance  and  as  one  entered 
they  faced  at  once  the  main  aisle  at  the  head  of  which  was  the 
communion  table,  standing  upon  a  dais  about  seven  inches  from 
the  floor  and  above  it,  raised  from  the  floor  by  about  thirty  inches, 
stood  the  pulpit. 

Looking  from  the  pulpit  one  saw  the  gallery  where  the  colored 
worshipers  sat,  they  having  access  to  their  seats  by  circular  stair- 
ways built  on  each  side  of  the  entrance  up  through  the  masonry 

13 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

buttresses.  A  large  gilt  circular  clock,  given  by  Robert  H.  Rad- 
ford, had  a  place  on  the  face  of  the  balcony  directly  opposite  the 
pulpit.  The  lighting  was  accomplished  by  gas  and  emergency 
kerosene  lamps. 

Natural  illumination,  however,  was  through  long  narrow  win- 
dows on  either  side  of  the  church.  These  windows  were  about 
twenty-four  inches  wide  and  the  lights  were  made  up  of  a  great 
number  of  small  panes  of  glass  each  about  five  inches  square.  The 
windows  were  bowed  at  the  top  and  on  the  outside  there  were 
full  length  shutters  running  from  the  floor  level  to  the  roof. 

When  the  sun  shone  through  the  clear  glass  windows  too 
brightly,  as  it  is  even  wont  to  do  today,  the  ushers  would  be  asked 
to  go  out  and  close  the  shutters. 

This  would  result  in  the  removal  of  two  long  poles  from  their 
recesses  at  the  entrance  near  where  Howard  A.  Pope  and  W.  A. 
Woodruff  were  wont  to  sit  for  years  as  ushers,  each  taking  two 
windows  they  would  proceed  to  slap  and  poke  the  shutters  closed, 
amid  much  clatter,  especially  in  summer  when  the  windows  were 
opened  for  ventilation. 

The  expression  that  the  church  was  "gloomy  within  and  with- 
out" has  its  chief  foundation  in  that  when  the  shutters  were 
closed  the  black  walnut  trim  of  the  interior  of  the  church  re- 
flected so  little  light  that  at  times  it  was  difficult  to  read.  How- 
ever, most  of  the  singing  at  the  time  was  done  by  the  congre- 
gation by  the  aid  of  a  melodeon  and  a  singing  leader.  Regular 
meetings  were  held  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  words  of  the 
hymns. 

Those  who  could  afford  them,  however,  owned  their  own 
singing  books  and  cushions  and  when  they  left  the  church  by  dis- 
missal or  otherwise,  they  took  their  hymn  books  and  cushions 
with  them  for  use  in  the  churches  to  which  they  were  transferred. 

The  seats  were  extremely  narrow  and  straight  backed.  Miss 
Dietrich  remembers  an  incident  that  gives  an  excellent  idea  of 
how  uncomfortable  the  church  pews  were  at  that  time.  It  seems 
that  a  Mrs.  Milliken  joined  the  church  and  in  order  to  more  com- 
pletely enjoy  the  service,  caused  to  be  made  for  her  an  excep- 
tionally wide  cushion  which,  when  it  continued  to  slip  off  the  pew 
onto  the  floor  at  prayer,  finally  had  it  nailed  fast  to  the  pew 
seat. 

Each  pew  had  a  door  with  a  catch  upon  it  so  that  it  would  not 
swing  open  and  encumber  persons  passing  up  and  down  the  aisle. 

14 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

The  purpose  of  the  doors  is  variously  explained.  Some  insist 
that  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  draft  from  the  feet  of 
the  worshipers  in  winter.  Others  said  that  it  indicated  that  the 
pew  seats  were  reserved  for  belated  members  of  the  families. 
Pews  were  often  sold  and  deeded  to  their  owners  for  life  use. 
Still  others  maintain  that  the  real  object  of  the  door  was  to  sym- 
bolize the   Biblical   admonition,   Matthew   6 :6 : 

"But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and 
when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is 
in  secret;  and  thy  Father,  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  reward 
thee  openly." 

The  pastor's  study  was  on  the  side  of  the  church  now  used  by 
the  choir  for  assembly  purposes  and  on  the  opposite  side  was  a 
great  heater  the  chimney  for  which  ran  up  the  rear  wall  of  the 
church  on  the  outside,  about  at  the  edge  of  the  platform  in  the 
Sunday  school  room  where,  it  will  be  recalled,  there  is  a  recessed 
arch  in  the  face  of  the  wall. 

In  course  of  time  the  chapel  was  added  to  the  church,  but  it  is 
not  shown  in  the  picture.  When  the  chapel  was  added,  the  chim- 
ney seemed  out  of  place.  It  left  an  awkward  vacancy  in  the  \vall 
and  so  it  was  decided  to  build  a  counterpart  of  the  chimney  on 
the  other  side  and  the  arch  was  put  in  so  as  to  bridge  the  two 
structures  and  at  the  same  time  the  wall  above  it  was  carried  up 
to  give  added  support  to  the  roof  of  the  chapel.  Across  this  arch 
was  formerly  a  motto,  cut  out  and  pasted,  which  read: 
"Be  ye  doers  of  the  Word  and  not  hearers  only." 

An  ordinary  crockery  bowl,  held  by  an  elder,  served  as  the 
baptismal  font  for  years. 

One  Fourth  of  July  eve  some  youths  bent  upon  proclaiming 
anew  the  continued  and  successful  independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  broke  into  the  church  and  made  the  very  welkin 
ring  above  the  sleeping  town  until  by  dint  of  too  great  effort  to  ac- 
complish their  purpose,  they  swung  the  bell  so  that  its  lip  caught 
under  the  mechanism  controlling  the  tolling  hammer,  thus  effect- 
ually silencing  it  while  the  drowsy  populace  hazily  wondered 
what  dire  punishment  had  been  so  promptly  meted  out  to  the 
perpetrators  of  the  tumult,  with  the  nation's  birthday  still  unborn. 

The  sexton,  seeking  to  summon  the  people  to  their  accustomed 
place  of  worship  the  following  Sunday,  pulled  first  on  the  ring- 

15 


THE     HISTORY    OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

ing  rope  and  then  on  the  tolling  line,  only  to  find  both  inflexible 
in  his  hands.  Climbing  into  the  belfry  he  saw,  with  consterna- 
tion, the  bell  swung  back  as  if  to  ring,  but  silent  in  the  iron  grip 
his  feeble  hands  could  not  unloose,  and  so  it  came  to  pass  that 
on  that  day  those  who  went  to  church  did  so  from  sturdy  habit 
instead  of  being  bidden  by  the  customary  summoning  bell. 


16 


CHAPTER  IV 

How  the  ^'^Anxious  Seat''  Issue  divided  the  Church 

■  HERE  came  about  this  time  experiences  which  must  have 
'sorely  tried  the  pastor's  soul  and  caused  the  gravest  appre- 
hension among  many  of  the  congregation  as  to  whether  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Plainfield  would  survive. 

After  protracted  negotiation  a  section  of  the  church  departed 
to  form  the  Second  Presbyterian  church,  which  later  became  the 
Crescent  Avenue  Presbyterian  church. 

The  First  church  then  had  230  communicants  and  the  Session 
minutes  show  that  indeed  it  had  been  richly  blessed  "with  refresh- 
ings from  the  presence  of  the  Lord." 

During  this  period  the  question,  probably  inspired  by  frequent 
revival  meetings  held  in  the  city,  arose,  regarding  the  installation 
of  the  Anxious  Seats  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  It  might  here 
be  explained  that  the  Anxious  Seats  were  the  front  pews  of  the 
auditorium  and  whenever  any  member  attending  public  worship, 
felt  especially  moved  by  the  words  of  the  pastor  or  by  the  Spirit 
they  would  leave  their  places  in  the  pews  and  move  up  forward 
as  a  sign  that  they  desired  to  be  especially  prayed  for. 

To  this  proposal  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bond  was  unalterably  opposed; 
but  some  of  the  people,  stirred  by  a  deep  religious  fervor, 
launched  a  movement  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
another  Presbyterian  church,  but  of  forcing  the  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Bond,  to  resign. 

There  came  a  time  when  Mr.  Bond  actually  handed  in  his 
resignation  as  pastor.  It  was  accepted  and  referred  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Elizabeth  Town,  but  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  resig- 
nation had  been  acted  upon  by  members  of  the  church  and  by 
Elders  who  had  already  been  dismissed  from  the  church  on  their 
own  application  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  another  Presby- 
terian church  In  Plainfield,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bond  held  that  its  accept- 
ance was  unconstitutional,  unauthorized  and  therefore  Illegal,  a 
position  which  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth  Town  subsequently 
upheld. 

On  February  16,  1844,  another  Parish  meeting  was  author- 
ized and,  upon  due  notice  being  given  that  it  was  the  intention  of 
the   applicants    for   dismissal   to   organize   another   church,    the 

17 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 


dismissals  were  granted  to  the  following  as  a  means  of  avoiding 
litigation : 


William  L.  Simpson 
William  Hendrickson 
Ira  Pruden 
James  Thorn,  Jr. 
Daniel  P.  Martin 
Frederick  Cadmus 
William  McD.  Coriell 
Henry  A.  Cory 
Isaac  Van  Nostrand 
Leonard  Vermeule 
Elias  Kirkpatrick 
Albert  Marsh 
Richard  Townsend 
John  S.  Parker 
Josiah  Layton 
Daniel  Bullman 
J.  H.  Coward 
Jinnette  E.  Martin 
William  B.  Hill 
Harry  Harris 
Caroline  Hill 
Phebe  E.  E.  Coward 
Deborah  C.  Coward 
William  B.  Shotwell 
David  Pound 
Christopher  Stewart 
Mary  Thorn 


Charlotte  Martin 
Jane  V.  Clawson 
Mary  B.  Clawson 
Nancy  B.  Southard 
Agnes  Anderson 
Eliza  Anderson 
Mary  A.  Shotwell 
Agnes  Anderson,  Jr. 
Mrs.  Hariett  H.  Cory 
Mrs.  Sarah  Layton 
John  L.  Heath 
Sophonia  M.  Heath 
Sarah  M.  Campbell 
Hannah  Staats 
Altha  M.  Marsh 
Elsey  Vermeule 
Phebe  Marsh 
Zupporah  R.  Irven 
Mary  Hendrickson 
Margaret  Hendrickson 
Henrietta  Hendrickson 
Mary  C.  Van  Kirk 
Harriett  Van  Kirk 
William  Nicoll 
William  Thorn 
Milton  F.  Cushing 
Fanny  Cushing 


Elizabeth  Pound 
Sarah  Coriell 
Eliza  Jane  Vermeule 
Harriett  Townsend 
Elizabeth  Boice 
Abraham  Cadmus 
Anna  Cadmus 
Jenetie  Cadmus 
Eleanor  Cadmus 
John  L.  Laing 
Elisha  Coriell,  Jr. 
Eliza  Coriell 
Martha  H.  Coon 
Martha  E.  Woodruff 
Ann  Martin 
Ann  B.  Bullman 
Margaret  Barton 
Eliza  Jane  Ditmas 
Sarah  Ditmas 
Eliza  C.  Coriell 
Eunice  V.  Van  Nostrand 
Frederick  H.  DeCamp 
William  Wilberson 
David  Whyte,  Sr. 
David  Whyte,  Jr. 
Jane  Whyte 
Elizabeth  Whyte 


The  requests  were  also  granted  of  Robert  Anderson,  John 
Layton,  Jr.,  Ephraim  Coriell  and  William  Hill,  Jr.,  who  were 
dismissed,  their  letters  "stating  that  the  applicants  were  mem- 
bers of  this  church  and  as  such  dismissed." 

The  remainder  left  in  the  original  Presbyterian  church  was 
148,  and  from  that  time  the  church  had  its  serious  struggles, 
finally  resulting  in  the  application  previously  made  to  the  New 
Jersey  State  Legislature,  for  a  change  in  the  corporate  title  re- 
corded March  28,  1826,  as  "The  First  Presbyterian  Church  and 
Congregation  of  Plainfield,  New  Jersey,"  to  that  of  "The  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Plainfield,  N.  J."  This  change  in  name 
was  approved  March  27,  1857. 

18 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

But  during  these  years  the  same  calm,  dignified,  kindly  pastor 
went  his  way  in  the  community.  Those  who  remember  him 
speak  of  his  infinite  patience  and  of  his  exemplary  life.  For 
nearly  thirty-two  years  he  was  the  leader  of  his  flock.  Slight  in 
build,  gentle  of  voice,  he  was  always  immaculately  attired  in  the 
ministerial  frock  coat  of  the  day  and  the  white  stock  forming 
both  collar  and  scarf. 

Two  years  after  the  separation  and  the  new  church  building 
had  gotten  well  under  way,  he  gave  notice  to  the  Session  of  his 
intention  to  ask  leave  to  resign  his  Pastoral  Charge,  and  on  May 
2 1  St,  1857,  the  Session  records  the  calling  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
H,  Myers  to  take  his  place. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  when  the  Rev.  Lewis  Bond  relin- 
quished his  charge  there  were  only  two  members  of  his  church 
still  numbered  among  the  founders  of  his  church. 

The  Rev.  Lewis  Bond's  picture  is  still  reverently  preserved 
by  this  congregation,  having  a  place  of  honor  in  the  Chapel. 
Some  of  his  sermons  have  been  preserved  by  his  grandson,  Clar- 
ence E.  Bond. 

The  Manse  of  our  church  then  stood  directly  across  the  street 
from  the  present  edifice,  where  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association  Building  is  just  being  completed.  The  original  build- 
ing, however,  now  stands  around  the  corner  on  Church  Street, 
next  adjoining  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  where  it  was  moved,  and  has 
been  considerably  altered  to  meet  modern  dwelling  requirements. 
Later  the  church  owned  a  manse  on  East  Fifth  Street,  which  was 
sold  to  aid  the  building  fund  for  improvements  to  the  present 
chapel. 

This  minute  appears  in  the  Session  records  of  March  8,  1885  : 

"In  recognition  of  the  death  on  January  23,  1885  of  the 
Rev.  Lewis  Bond,  for  32  years  Pastor  of  this  church,  the 
Session  desires  to  record  its  sense  of  his  sterling  character 
and  worth  as  a  Christian  and  a  Gospel  Minister,  his  long 
life  of  fidelity  and  usefulness,  his  tranquil  and  Godly  walk 
and  conversation,  his  unabated  interest  in  the  church,  his 
peaceful  death  in  the  Lord  as  the  Lord's." 

The  new  church  building  was  completed  and  dedicated  during 
the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Myers,  who  resigned  within  two 
years  of  his  call  to  found  a  college  in  Florida. 

19 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

The  next  minister  was  the  Rev.  Samuel  M.  Studdiford,  who 
was  installed  in  i860,  but  who,  after  a  brief  pastorate  was  called 
to  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Stewartsville,  New  Jersey,  and  in 
1862  the  Rev.  Daniel  V.  McLean  was  called. 

His  pastorate  was  inaugurated  with  much  enthusiasm  and 
closed  with  circumstances  which  resembled  in  some  degree  the 
difficulties  the  congregation  passed  through  when  the  Second 
Presbyterian  church  was  formed,  except  that  it  contributed 
largely,  in  this  case,  to  the  formation  of  Trinity  Reformed 
church,  there  being  some  question  as  to  the  legality  of  dismissing 
some  forty  members  after  he  had  resigned  as  pastor.  Those 
who  remember  him  recall  that  he  was  of  a  dynamic  turn  of  mind, 
impetuous,  fiery  and  yet  a  magnetic  man  who  conceived  for  our 
church  a  militant  place  in  the  exposition  of  the  Christian  life. 

A  new  pastor  again  occupied  the  pulpit  in  1863  when  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  Cory  of  Perth  Amboy  was  called.  He  stayed  between 
four  and  five  years,  during  which  time  the  church  prospered  and 
the  membership  increased  greatly.  He  was  in  every  respect  a 
most  charming  and  popular  preacher.  His  daughter  was  mar- 
ried in  the  church  during  Mr.  Cory's  pastorate.  Mr.  Cory's 
wife  was  a  member  of  the  well-known  Crane  family  of  Elizabeth. 
He  was  called  elsewhere  and  resigned  early  in  1868. 

The  Rev.  Henry  L.  Teller,  young,  eloquent,  polished,  and 
an  earnest  Christian  worker,  became  pastor  as  successor  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Cory,  but  resigned  within  two  years  of  his  being  called 
to  go  to  the  Amsterdam,  N.  Y.,  Presbyterian  church.  His  wife, 
who  was  wealthy  in  her  own  right,  did  not  fancy  the  life  of  a 
minister's  wife  and  soon  induced  her  husband  to  give  up  the 
ministry. 


20 


The   First   Presbyterian    Church    i8S8 — 1925 


CHAPTER  V 

Sarah  M.  Latimer  and  the  ** Little  Black   Cross*' 

jHE  present  church  edifice  stands  as  the  monument  to  the 
'personahty  and  activity  of  the  Rev.  Kneeland  P.  Ketcham 
as  the  leader  of  this  congregation  from  1871  until  March  13, 
1902. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Ketcham  was  called  from  AUentown,  New 
Jersey,  a  settlement  located  near  the  present  town  of  Bridgeton. 
He  was  a  man  of  vision  and  action,  energetic  and  with  a  per- 
sonality that  inspired  great  confidence  and  cooperation. 

In  the  strange  working  out  of  God's  plans  it  was  not  intended 
that  the  then  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  in  Plain- 
field,  just  entering  upon  the  second  half  of  his  long  pastorate, 
should  know  that  the  business  success  of  a  non-believing  cotton 
shipper  from  South  Carolina  would  be  the  indirect  source  from 
which  the  physical  monument  of  his  ministry  in  Plainfield  would 
rise  even  before  his  leadership  was  to  end. 

Yet  the  story  of  the  remarkable  life  of  Henry  Latimer,  proud 
of  his  disbelief  in  the  Christian  church,  is  not  only  entwined 
about  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Plainfield,  but  successive 
generations  who  shall  gaze  upon  the  little  cross  that  tops  the 
steeple  will  know  that  it  is  there  because  of  him. 

Born  in  poverty  in  the  Carolina  cotton  fields,  Henry  Latimer 
as  a  boy  took  ship  on  a  boat  that  was  bringing  cotton  to  New 
York  at  a  time  when  there  was  a  boom  in  that  staple.  The  first 
time  he  arrived  in  the  great  metropolis,  he  bought  himself  a  new 
hat  and  some  clothes. 

Earning  his  passage  back  and  later  coming  north  again  with 
another  shipment  of  cotton,  he  induced  the  captain  to  let  him  buy 
a  bale.  His  earnings,  great  because  of  the  boom,  were  quickly 
turned  into  the  purchase  of  several  more  bales  on  the  next  trip 
north  and  the  result  was  that  in  a  short  time  he  was  operating  a 
fleet  of  cotton-carrying  boats  for  himself  and  finally  directed  the 
shipment  north  of  great  quantities  of  cotton  so  that  in  compara- 
tively early  life  he  was  enabled  to  retire. 

By  some  strange  coincidence  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Latimer,  the 
latter  formerly  Sarah  M.  Stocking,  of  Kentucky,  selected  Plain- 
field  as  their  home  and  by  a  still  stranger  coincidence,  in  the  light 
of  the  part  this  couple  were  later  to  play  in  the  affairs  of  the 

21 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

First  Presbyterian  church,  they  moved  into  a  home  on  Bank  Place 
within  stone's  throw  of  the  very  spot  where  the  first  church  ser- 
vice of  that  congregation  was  held  on  the  brink  of  what  for  years 
was  known  as  Tier's  pond.  They  later  built  a  home  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Bank  Place  and  East  Front  Street  near  where  now  stands 
the  Strand  theatre. 

As  has  been  stated,  Mr.  Latimer  did  not  believe  in  churches, 
but  he  is  reported  to  have  given  an  organ  to  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity of  this  city. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  his  wife,  desiring  to  have  someone 
conduct  the  funeral  services,  called  in  the  pastor  of  the  church 
"up  the  street"  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ketcham  responded,  conduct- 
ing the  services  also  at  the  grave. 

This  was  the  first  time  the  Latimer  family  ever  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  Christian  church,  according  to  Miss  Addie  Dietrich, 
who  was  intimately  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Latimer,  the  two  fam- 
ilies being  very  closely  associated  as  neighbors  and  friends. 

Mr.  Latimer's  death,  and  the  loss  of  their  adopted  son,  David, 
in  the  Civil  War  caused  Mrs.  Latimer  to  reach  out  for  the  con- 
solation of  the  church  and  when  Mr.  Ketcham  called  to  comfort 
her  in  her  affliction,  Mrs.  Latimer  asked  what  she  could  do  to 
aid  him  In  realizing  the  aspirations  he  had  for  the  enlargement 
of  the  influence  of  his  church  in  Plalnfield. 

Upon  hearing  that  the  church  had  decided  to  build  a  new  edi- 
fice, she  volunteered  to  give  the  necessary  amount  needed  to  com- 
plete the  contributions  which  had  already  begun  to  come  in  from 
the  members  of  the  congregation,  which  had  grown  to  a  total  of 
268,  not  Including  the  membership  of  the  Bible  Class,  totalling 
190  in  addition. 

Her  gifts  embraced  $32,000  for  the  church,  $6,000  for  the 
organ  which,  plus  $2,000  received  by  the  sale  of  the  old  one, 
cost  $8,000.  Gifts  for  finishing  the  church  and  special  purposes 
brought  the  total  of  Mrs.  Latimer's  gifts  to  the  church,  so  far 
as  known,  to  $44,000,  which  also  included  the  beautiful  stained 
glass  circular  window  in  the  front  of  the  edifice. 

Two  incidents  are  sufficiently  authenticated  In  connection  with 
Mrs.  Latimer's  benefactions  as  to  merit  inclusion  In  a  History 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Plalnfield.  One  concerns  the  cir- 
cular stained  glass  window  and  the  other  the  little  cross  that  sur- 
mounts the  steeple. 

J.  M.  Bettman  and  the  pastor  of  the  church  believed,  with  the 

22 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

members  of  the  congregation,  that  some  tribute  should  be  made 
to  Mrs.  Latimer's  generosity  either  in  the  form  of  a  stained  glass 
window  or  a  tablet.  To  all  proposals  of  this  sort  the  modest 
widow  of  the  cotton  trader  entered  objections.  She  desired  that 
her  gifts  be  received  in  as  great  secrecy  as  possible. 

The  building  committee  consisting,  besides  the  pastor  and  Mr. 
Bettman,  of  Robert  H.  Radford,  William  H.  Shotwell,  Edward 
St.  John,  Howard  A.  Pope  and  F.  C.  Lounsbury,  believed  that 
at  least  some  record  should  be  made  of  this  gracious  woman  in 
the  structure  she  so  freely  helped  to  build.  It  was  decided  that 
the  manufacturer  of  the  stained  glass  window  be  appealed  to  in 
some  way  to  work  in  her  name,  and  those  desiring  to  see  the 
artist's  handicraft  in  this  particular  need  may  look  on  the  selvedge 
of  the  window  near  where  it  enters  the  frame  on  the  central  edge. 

Mrs.  Latimer  did  not  live  to  see  the  church  entirely  com- 
pleted. Toward  the  completion  of  the  structure,  however,  she 
was  taken  in  a  wheel  chair,  accompanied  by  J.  Fred  MacDon- 
ald,  who,  with  William  H.  Shotwell  and  William  A.  Woodruff 
were  later  named  executors  of  her  estate,  to  the  site.  She  sat  on 
the  platform  with  Mrs.  N.  W.  West,  another  generous  con- 
tributor toward  the  building  fund,  when  the  corner  stone  was  laid. 

During  the  course  of  conversation  on  the  way  back,  Mr.  Shot- 
well,  not  knowing  about  the  inscription  of  her  name  on  the 
window,  again  pressed  her  for  permission  to  place  her  name 
somewhere  on  the  church  or  in  it. 

After  some  thought  on  the  subject,  and  when  she  had  been 
placed  in  a  comfortable  chair  in  her  home,  she  spoke  of  her  hus- 
band saying  that  the  only  reference  of  a  sympathetic  nature  she 
had  ever  heard  him  make  to  a  Christian  church  was  the  fact  that 
once  when  he  was  a  little  boy  on  the  cotton  plantations  he  had 
gone  to  a  Sunday  school  on  which  there  was  a  little  black  cross. 
Mrs.  Latimer  then  said,  in  the  presence  of  all  three  men  who 
had  walked  back  with  her  from  the  church  site,  that  if  they  in- 
sisted upon  doing  something  in  memory  of  her  that,  in  remem- 
brance of  this  remark  by  her  husband,  they  put  a  little  black  cross 
on  the  top  of  the  church. 

After  her  death,  which  occurred  very  soon  thereafter,  the 
Executors,  who  proved  to  be  the  three  men  who  heard  her  make 
the  remark,  advised  the  church,  through  its  finance  committee, 
which  included  the  Pastor,  Elders,  Deacons  and  Trustees,  and 
F.  C.  Lounsbury,  W.  H.  Van  Slyke  and  Peter  Hoagland,  that 

23 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

a  little  black,  cross  had  to  be  included  in  the  architecture  of  the 
church  as  a  condition  of  the  payment  of  the  remainder  of  Mrs. 
Latimer's  benefactions. 

Reporting  this  to  the  congregation,  some  protest  developed 
from  a  small  section  of  the  membership,  upon  the  ground  that 
a  cross  of  whatever  color  was  out  of  place  upon  a  Presbyterian 
church.  The  position  of  the  Executors  could,  of  course,  be  only 
that  of  "No  cross,  no  money." 

It  was  finally  decided  to  put  the  cross  on  the  top  of  the  steeple 
and,  while  there  was  some  quiet  mumbling,  it  soon  caused  little 
comment  and  few  finally  noticed  that  it  was  there. 

At  about  noon  time  one  extremely  hot  day  in  July  when  the 
interest  in  the  cross  had  entirely  waned,  a  puffy  white  cloud  came 
out  of  the  west  in  what  otherwise  was  a  clear  sky.  It  proved  to 
be  a  little  shower  with  only  a  single  flash  of  lightning,  but  that 
bolt  struck  off  the  little  black  cross  and  tumbled  it  in  fragments 
upon  the  church  yard  below. 

At  once  there  was  a  vigorous  renewal  of  the  discussion  about 
the  propriety  of  having  the  cross  on  the  church,  but  when  the 
Executors,  who  had  long  since  settled  up  the  estate,  paying  the 
residue  to  two  nephews  who  lived  somewhere  In  Kentucky,  were 
appealed  to  It  was  their  Insistence  upon  keeping  faith  with  the 
only  stipulation  Mrs.  Latimer  made  In  connection  with  her  great 
gifts,  and,  further,  upon  the  continued  importunities  of  the  church 
people  she  benefited,  that  a  little  black  cross  should  be  replaced 
upon  the  steeple,  which  was  accordingly  done. 

Again  the  cross  incident  had  passed  into  mutual  forgetfulness 
when,  again,  also  on  a  July  day,  and  at  noon,  another  small  puffy 
cloud  came  over  the  low  lying  Watchung  mountains  and,  during 
the  shower  that  followed,  a  single  forked  flash  from  Its  curling 
center  again,  removed  the  cross  without  doing  any  other  damage 
to  the  building. 

This  time  the  objection  to  the  presence  of  thei  cross  was  based 
upon  the  belief  that,  lightning  having  struck  twice  in  the  same 
place,  was  most  certainly  a  manifestation  of  the  displeasure  of 
Providence  and  that  the  cross  should  not  be  replaced. 

However,  after  due  course,  the  cross  again  appeared  at  the 
top  of  the  steeple,  and  while  the  tower  has  been  struck  since  by 
lightning,  the  cross  has  remained  to  this  day,  having  lately  been 
substituted  by  a  copper  cross  of  sturdy  construction. 

24 


THE     HISTORY    OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 


It  is  interesting  to  record  at  this  point  some  other  incidents 
and  facts  concerning  the  erection  of  this  church. 

On  June  6,  1888,  a  special  meeting  was  held  by  the  Session 
when  it  was  decided  to  call  a  Parish  meeting  for  the  purpose  of 
building,  if  the  way  be  clear,  a  new  church.  On  June  19,  1888, 
the  building  committee  appointed  Oscar  S.  Teale,  architect,  who 
now  lives  in  the  city  of  Newark. 

J.  W.  Pangborn  was  the  builder  who  submitted  a  bid  of 
$26,900  for  the  construction  of  the  building  and  the  contract 
was  awarded  to  him.  The  records  of  the  Session  under  date  of 
September  16,  1888,  show  that  the  building,  including  the  organ 
and  every  appurtenance,  cost  about  $45,000.  The  entire  church 
building  was  appraised  by  John  Abbott,  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, before  the  Great  War,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  how 
much  insurance  the  congregation  ought  to  carry  on  the  property, 
at  $100,000.     Mr.  Abbott  was  a  practical  builder. 

The  contributors  to  the  church  building  fund  were  as  follows: 


Sarah  M.  Latimer 
William  R.  Anthony 
J.  W.  Anthony 
John  Barr 
J.   M.   Bettman 
Theophilus  Bond 
Miss  Kate  Bond 
Aaron  Berkaw 
Sallie  Butcher 
Rutgers  V.  Cadmus 
Abraham  L.  Cadmus 
Elisha  Coriell 
Mrs.  D.  Chase 
Mrs.  J.  W.  Craig 
John  Dietrich 


Mrs.  Forbes 

Peter  Hoagland 

Alvin  E.  Hoagland 

Rev.  K.  P.  Ketcham 

Mrs.  Fanny  Ketcham 

Isaac  L.  Miller 

Miss  Meig 

Mrs.  Charles  McCutcheon 

Miss  Jane  Petrie 

Mrs.  Petrie 

Howard  A.  Pope 

R.  H.  Radford 

A.  G.  Remsen 

Henry  W.  Rogers 

Carrie  Runvon 


R.  J.  Shaw 
William  H.  Shotwell 
Freeman  J.  Shotwell 
A.  V.  Shotwell 
J.  Augustus  Smith 
Edward  St.  John 
J.  W.  Schenck 
J.  Evarts  Tracy 
W.  H.  Van  Slyke 
William  Van  Winkle 
Miss  Vanderweg 
Mrs.  N.  W.  West 
C.  J.  Westervelt 
J.  M.  White 


The  new  church  was  dedicated  with  special  services  on  the 
evenings  of  June  25th  and  28th,  1889.  The  services  on  June 
25th  were  conducted  by  the  Pastor,  the  Rev.  Kneeland  P. 
Ketcham,  the  dedicatory  sermon  being  preached  by  the  Rev. 
Charles  L.  Thompson,  D.D.,  of  New  York  City. 

The  services  on  June  28th  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  W.  L. 
Richards,  pastor  of  the  Crescent  Avenue  Presbyterian  church, 
with  addresses  by  the  Rev.  D.  J.  Yerkes,  pastor  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist church;  Rev.  Erskine  M.  Rodman,  rector  of  Grace  Episcopal 

25 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

church;  Rev.  Cornelius  Schenck,  pastor  of  Trinity  Reformed 
Church;  Rev.  Charles  L.  Goodrich,  pastor  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church,  and  Rev.  Asa  R.  Dilts.  There  were  also  addresses 
by  James  McGee,  C.  W.  McCutcheon  and  William  D.  Murray. 

The  official  seating  capacity  of  the  church  building  is  900  and 
every  seat  was  occupied  during  these  services,  for  the  church, 
with  its  inclined  auditorium  with  seats  arranged  fan  like  and 
radiating  from  the  pulpit,  was  then  a  distinct  architectural 
novelty. 

The  design  of  the  church  was  similar  to  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  at  Hackettstown,  which  also  was  designed  by  Oscar  S. 
Teale,  architect,  and  many  Plainfielders  passing  through  the  main 
street  of  that  Warren  county  city  stop  to  compare  the  architec- 
tural face  of  the  edifice  there  with  that  in  Plainfield.  Howard  A. 
Pope,  William  H.  Shotwell  and  John  M.  Bettman  were  the  com- 
mittee sent  to  Hackettstown  to  view  that  church  and  upon  their 
recommendation  the  design  of  the  Plainfield  church  was  made 
like  it,  but  modified  in  some  respects,  to  conform  to  local  condi- 
tions, particularly  as  to  lot  width. 

Dr.  Ellis  W.  Hedges  was  organist  for  a  great  many  years  and 
A.  V.  Searing,  Jr.,  and  Edward  Petrie  were  for  many  years  offi- 
cial organ  pumpers. 

One  time  when  an  eminent  organist  from  New  York  came 
out  to  give  a  recital  he  brought  with  him  a  device  that  oper- 
ated a  dozen-odd  pedals  at  once  so  as  to  produce  climactic  vol- 
ume, and  the  frantic  efforts  of  the  young  organ  pumpers  to  keep 
the  instrument  supplied  with  air,  and  thus  not  to  spoil  the  concert, 
resulted  in  great  physical  fatigue  between  the  two  assistants  of 
the  organist  and  an  hour  or  two  of  incidental  wonderment  as  to 
what  sort  of  a  many-handed  and  footed  "monster"  sat  at  the 
console. 

On  March  13,  1892,  Dr.  Ketcham  applied  for  a  dissolution 
of  the  pastoral  relation  and  on  July  6,  1892,  a  call  was  extended 
to  and  accepted  by  the  Rev.  Henry  L.  Miller. 

It  was,  however,  destined  for  him  never  to  become  the  actual 
pastor  of  the  church,  because  just  while  preparations  were  being 
made  to  receive  him  and  he  had  moved  his  household  effects  to 
Plainfield,  Mr.  Miller's  wife  was  taken  critically  ill  and  he  de- 
clined the  call  on  that  account. 


26 


CHAPTER  VI 

"The  Close  of  the  First  Century 

N  October  20,  1892,  a  call  was  extended  to  the  Rev.  Charles 
E.  Herring,  of  New  York  City,  where  he  had  been  ordained 
totheministry  by  the  Presbytery  of  that  city,  January  19, 1888,  the 
same  year,  it  is  pleasant  to  note  that  the  church  that  he  was  des- 
tined to  serve  as  pastor  for  29  years,  was  built.  He  received 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy  from  Columbia  University 
in  1887,  and  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  from  New  York 
University  in  1907;  but  the  honor  that  he  most  craved,  but  reso- 
lutely awaited  for  it  to  be  honorarily  conferred,  namely,  that  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  was  received  by  his  widow,  Alice  Miller 
Herring,  a  few  days  after  his  death  at  Muhlenberg  Hospital, 
Plainfield,  May  26th,  192 1,  he  having  been  stricken  while  preach- 
ing his  usual  sermon  Sunday  morning,  May  15th,  at  11:40 
o'clock. 

This  incident  was  one  of  the  most  tragic  in  the  history  of  this 
church.  It  was  a  bright  sunshiny  Spring  morning  and  the  church 
was  well  filled  when,  after  greeting  the  children  in  Sunday  school 
as  was  his  wont  before  entering  the  pulpit,  the  congregation 
assembling  for  worship  saw  him  in  his  pulpit  as  usual. 

No  hint  of  anything  amiss  occurred  until,  after  being  well 
started  upon  his  sermon,  the  text  of  which  was  "Moses,  my  ser- 
vant, is  dead,"  he  paused  and  said: 

"I  cannot  go  on  with  the  sermon.  It  is  all  right."  When,  in 
sinking  to  his  chair,  he  said  to  the  treasurer  of  the  church,  Howard 
W.  Satterfield,  who,  sitting  close  to  him,  was  first  to  grasp  the 
full  extent  of  the  minister's  distress,  "I  want  to  go  home.  Brother 
Manning,  will  you  dismiss  the  people?" 

Dr.  N.  W.  Currie  and  Mrs.  Herring,  both  of  whom  were  sit- 
ting in  the  gallery,  hurried  to  the  study  as  tender  hands  lifted 
the  stalwart  but  now  limp  frame  of  the  pastor  irlto  the  room 
where  his  wife  and  physician  awaited  him,  while  Elder  J.  H.  Man- 
ning, with  a  benediction,  dismissed  the  congregation. 

Nine  days  later  Dr.  Herring  passed  away  in  Muhlenberg  hos- 
pital and  was  buried,  after  a  double  funeral  service,  in  Hillside 
cemetery,  this  city. 

The  services  in  tribute  to  the  pastor,  thus  suddenly  taken  from 
the  leadership  of  his  congregation,  were  held  on  successive  days. 

27 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

On,  a  Sunday  evening  a  few  weeks  before  he  was  stricken,  the 
church  was  filled  to  capacity  with  the  masonic  fraternity  of  Plain- 
field  and  friends  as  a  tribute  to  the  long  years  as  Chaplain  in 
Jerusalem  Lodge  No.  26  F.  &  A.  M.  and  also  as  a  public  testi- 
monial of  their  appreciation  of  Dr.  Herring  as  a  citizen  and 
patriot. 

Dr.  Herring  remarked  to  friends  after  the  service  that  it  was 
the  first  time  in  many  years  that  the  full  capacity  of  the  church 
had  been  taken  at  an  evening  service. 

Little  did  the  genial  minister  realize  that  within  a  very  short 
time  the  same  fraternity  and  the  same  friends  would  again  fill 
the  church  to  a  point  where  the  capacity  of  the  edifice  was  to  be 
exceeded  to  the  extent  even  that  many  of  every  color  and  creed 
who  sought  to  pay  tribute  to  his  memory  had  to  be  turned  away, 
for  there  was  a  genuine  feeling  "that  he  belonged  not  alone  to 
the  sorrowing  wife  and  sister  but  to  the  whole  community." 

The  Rev.  R.  F.  Y.  Pierce,  Baptist  minister,  and  a  Chaplain  of 
the  New  York  Police  Department,  presiding  over  and  voicing 
the  people's  tribute  at  that  service,  summed  up  the  public's  ap- 
praisal of  Dr.  Herring's  character  and  citizenship  in  these  words 
during  his  address  on  the  subject,  "I  Live,"  before  an  enthralled 
audience : 

"Our  brother.  Dr.  Herring,  embraced  an  ideal  of  an  ennobled 
life  and  wrought  a  glorious  manhood  which  made  him  a  prince 
among  his  fellow  men.  His  gentleness,  kindness,  sympathy, 
strength  of  character,  genial  spirit,  broad  charity  and  virility  of 
Christian  manhood  made  him  to  be  revered  as  one  of  God's 
noblemen. 

"He  lived,  not  for  himself,  but  with  the  mind  of  the  Master, 
he  sought  to  lift  the  burdens  from  the  hearts  of  others,  to  speak 
words  of  cheer  to  those  fainting  and  faltering  on  Life's  weary 
way.  His  was  the  joy  to  wipe  sorrow's  tears  from  everflowing 
eyes;  to  sow  the  seeds  of  truth  In  hearts  of  age  and  youth;  to 
lead  the  wanderer  home ;  to  teach  the  world  about  Christ,  and  to 
be  a  friend  of  man. 

"His  memory  will  ever  be  a  precious  legacy,  not  only  to  the 
loved  ones  of  his  heart  and  home,  but  to  all  who  came  within  the 
circle  of  his  Influence." 

In  strict  accordance  with  a  plan  for  his  funeral  which  he 
had  prepared  some  years  before  and  was  discovered  among  his 
papers  after  his  death,  the  body  lay  in  state  in  the  church  he 

28 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

loved  and  served  well  nigh  three  decades,  lovingly  guarded  by 
representatives  of  the  Session,  Deacons,  Trustees,  officers  of  his 
church  and  Masonic  brethren  in  the  persons  of:  A.  W.  Dunning 
and  A.  V.  Searing,  Jr.,  until  midnight;  Allen  E.  Beals  and  G.  F. 
Murphy  until  3  o'clock;  F.  O.  Dunning  and  John  S.  Johnston 
until  6  A.M.  and  George  B.  Wean  and  W.  H.  Abbott  until  9  A.M. 
He  was  borne  to  his  last  mortal  resting  place  on  the  beautiful 
slopes  of  Hillside  cemetery  by  Alvin  E.  Hoagland,  Isaac  L.  Wil- 
liamson, John  H.  Johnston,  Dr.  N.  W.  Currie,  John  G.  Bicknell 
and  Allen  E.  Beals. 

There  are  many  today  who  pay  to  Dr.  Herring  the  encomium 
so  richly  earned  that  his  great  gift  to  the  First  Presbyterian 
church  of  Plainfield  was  the  deep-seated  spirit  of  Brotherly  Love 
that  has  embued  the  members  of  this  church  body  over  so  many 
happy  years. 

It  was  during  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Herring  that  an 
incident  occurred  which  resulted  in  enriching  the  church  with  its 
beautiful  onyx  baptismal  font,  the  first  two  children  to  be  bap- 
tised at  which  were  the  great-grandchildren  of  the  Rev.  Lewis 
Bond,  first  pastor  of  the  church,  Bessie  Wright  and  Clarence 
LesHe  Bond,  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarence  Eugene  Bond. 

Dr.  Herring  was  invited  on  a  certain  occasion  to  deliver  a 
sermon  at  Crescent  Avenue  church.  In  the  audience  was  Mr. 
Charles  L.  Hyde,  who  listened  with  great  interest  to  what  Dr. 
Herring  had  to  say.  After  the  service  he  made  inquiry  as  to 
who  that  preacher  was  and,  upon  being  told  it  was  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Herring  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  he  declared: 

"That  is  the  kind  of  a  preacher  I  like  and  we  will  worship  in 
his  church  hereafter." 

During  his  attendance  upon  public  worship  in  Dr.  Herring's 
church,  Mrs.  Hyde  noticed  that  there  was  no  suitable  font  for 
the  baptism  service,  whereupon,  making  further  inquiry,  she 
arranged  to  present  to  the  church  the  beautiful  example  of  the 
stone  cutter's  art  that  graces  the  front  of  the  auditorium  to  the 
left  of  the  pulpit. 

Other  notable  baptisms  at  this  font  were:  Irving  Bond  Hin- 
man,  Kenneth  Russell  Hinman,  sons  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grove 
Porter  Hinman;  Gordon  Van  der  Vere  Bond,  son  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Alexander  Russell  Bond,  descendants  of  the  first  pastor  of 
the  church;  and  Harold  Deforrest  and  Donald  Deforrest  Beebe, 
sons  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  S.  Beebe,  direct  descendants  of  Pier- 

29 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

pont  Potter,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
Plainfield. 

On  June  19,  192 1,  a  "Pastor  Selection  Committee"  consist- 
ing of  E.  M.  Cave,  F.  O.  Dunning,  Harry  Williams,  Dr.  N.  W. 
Currie,  John  S.  Johnston,  Alvin  E.  Hoagland,  Mrs.  T.  C.  Bo- 
dine,  Mrs.  Harold  S.  Beebe  and  Allen  E.  Beals  met  for  organ- 
ization and  by  acclamation  Mr.  Dunning  was  made  chairman 
and  Mr.  Beals  secretary. 

Events  seemed  to  amply  evidence  the  predestination  of  the 
Rev.  Leroy  W.  Warren,  just  returned  from  Europe  following 
a  long  period  of  war  service  in  this  country,  to  be  the  pastor  of 
this  church  and  spiritual  leader  of  this  people. 

The  Rev.  L.  B.  Crane,  of  Elizabeth,  hearing  of  the  vacancy 
existing  in  the  pulpit  of  our  church,  suggested  that  representa- 
tives of  our  congregation  go  to  hear  Mr.  Warren  preach  in  his 
church,  the  Westminster  Presbyterian,  at  Elizabeth.  Elders 
Charles  M.  Hummer,  F.  O.  Dunning  and  A.  V.  Searing,  Jr.,  at- 
tended accordingly.  Their  report  to  the  committee  on  Pastor 
Selection,  submitted  after  its  organization,  was  so  unanimously 
enthusiastic  that  the  recommendation  was  approved  that  it  enter 
the  name  of  Mr.  Warren  as  its  first  candidate,  resulting  in  Mr. 
Warren,  upon  invitation,  preaching  two  sermons  before  leaving 
for  his  customary  summer  sojourn  in  the  mountains  of  Colorado. 

During  the  summer  this  committee  personally  heard  fourteen 
candidates  and  carried  on  correspondence  with  one  hundred  and 
thirty-nine  persons,  but  at  its  sixth  meeting  it  reported  unani- 
mously that  "after  impartially  analyzing  every  one  from  every 
angle,  there  is  none  who  stands  forth  anywhere  near  so  favorably 
as  does  the  Rev.  Leroy  W.  Warren,  of  Galena,  111." 

It  is  a  significant  vindication  of  the  judgment  and  wisdom  of 
this  committee  that  during  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Warren,  more 
than  330  new  members  have  been  received  into  full  communion 
of  this  church,  a  manse  at  41  Sanford  Avenue  has  been  purchased, 
and  the  chapel  has  been  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,  and  that 
complete  harmony  and  spiritual  unity  has  prevailed,  making  the 
total  membership  at  the  time  of  the  annual  meeting  on  April  15, 
1925,  641,  the  highest  total  ever  recorded  in  our  church  history. 

It  is  fitting  to  note  in  connection  with  the  rebuilding  of  the 
chapel,  finished  in  the  Spring  of  1925,  that  at  a  bazaar  held  for  the 
purpose  of  aiding  in  liquidating  some  of  the  cost  of  the  improve- 
ment made  necessary  by  the  growth  of  the  Bible  School,  an  en- 

30 


THE     HISTORY    OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 


graved  picture  of  the  White  House  at  Washington,  autographed 
by  Mrs.  Calvin  Coolidge,  wife  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  sent  by  her  to  the  Guild  for  sale. 

The  Elders  of  our  church  from  its  organization  down  to  the 
annual  meeting  of  1925  follow: 


1825  Robert  Anderson  1886 

1825  John  Lavton  1889 

1833  Jarvis  B.  Ay  res  1890 

1841  Lucas  V.  Hoagland  1890 

1845  Abijah  Titus  1892 

1845  Andrew  A.  Cadmus  1892 

1847  Ephraim  Coriell  1893 

1847  Job  Squier  1893 

1850  Tunison  T.  Soper  1894 

1856  Peter  J.  Smith  1900 

1858  E.  Dean  Dow  1908 

1858  Ellis  Potter  1910 

1858  Frazee  Cole  1918 

1858  David  J.  Gordon  1918 

1858  Edmund  V.   Shotwell  1919 

1864  Peter  Hoagland  1920 

1864  Daniel  Van  Winkle  1920 

1864  Peter  B.  Westervelt  1923 

1871   Samuel  MiUiken,  Jr.  1923 
1876  Benjamin  F,  McKeage 

1880  Isaac  L.  Miller  1925 
1882  Henry  B.  Opdyke 


John  M.  Bettman 
Edward  St.  John 
F.  C.  Lounsbury 
A.  L.  Cadmus 

E.  M.  Cave 
William  H.  Shotwell 
W.  L.  Ladd 

R.  H.  Radford 
Howard  A.  Pope 
Leroy  H.  Gates 
J.  H.  Manning 
Charles  M.  Hummer 

F.  O.  Dunning 
Harry  Williams 
A.  V.  Searing,  Jr. 

E.  D.  George 

F.  L.  Palmer 

Dr.  Thomas  D.  Blair 
Dominico  Di  Diario 
{Italian  Mission) 
Arthur   N.   Hazeltine 


THE  END 


31 


THE     HISTORY     OF     THE     FIRST     PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 

Grateful  acknowledgments  are  due  and  are  respectfully  made 
by  the  compiler  of  these  records  for  valuable  assistance  and 
greatly  appreciated  cooperation  from  the  following: 

Mrs.  Howard  A.  Pope,  for  information. 

J.  M.  Bettman,  for  session  records. 

Charles  M.  Hummer,  for  session  records. 

Miss  Addie  Dietrich,  for  memoirs  and  suggestions. 

Joseph  P.  Byrnes,  Principal  Clerk,  Register's  Office,  Newark,  N.  J., 
for  search  of  original  deed  of  church  property  and  records,  dating  back 
to  1826. 

The  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Frank  J.  Hubbard,  Civil  Engineer,  for  map. 

J.  Fred  MacDonald,  Assessor  and  formerly  Executor  of  Mrs.  Sarah 
M.  Latimer's  Estate,  for  memoirs  and  data. 

Plainfield  Public  Library  and  Librarians,  for  records. 

Miss  Minerva  Freeman,  Dover,  N.  J.,  for  historical  setting. 

Mrs.  Howard  W.  Satterfield,  for  historical  locations  and  incidents. 

The  Plainfield  Courier-News  and  old  newspaper  files. 

Mrs.  A.  V.  Searing,  Jr.,  for  photograph  of  "Church  of  1855." 

A.  V.  Searing,  Jr.,  for  information  relating  to  proceedings  of  Board 
of  Trustees,  etc. 

H.  L.  Luckey,  photographs. 

Clarence  E.  Bond,  for  memoirs  and  records,  manuscripts,  etc. 

Mrs.  Allen  E.  Beals,  for  information. 

Mrs.  H.  S.  Beebe,  for  information. 

Mrs.  Grove  P.  Hinman,  for  information. 

J.  H.  Coward,  for  information. 

History  of  Plainfield,  by  O.  B.  Leonard. 

History  of  Plainfield,  by  A.  Van  Doren  Honeyman. 

History  of  Middlesex  County,  1882,  Public  Library. 

Pamphlets  of  New  Jersey,  Vol.  VHL 

E.  P.  Morris,  for  information. 

S.  L.  Pach,  for  data. 

M.  F.  Elderton,  for  information. 

Thomas  Butler,  Inspector  of  Buildings,  for  data. 

32 


Pnncetun    Theoiog'C.il   SemnLiry-Spepf 


1012  0 


090  6610 


DATE  DUE 

'  ■'•ofcwia.Kr** 

m. 

DEMCO  38-297 

